Vienna Boys Choir in family-friendly holiday show

November 29, 2012

LEWISBURG, Pa. — The Vienna Boys Choir will present a family-friendly holiday show Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell University. Limited tickets are available.

The event is sponsored, in part, by Coldwell Banker Penn One Real Estate and Martha and Alan Barrick.

The Vienna Boys Choir is a group of trebles and altos based in Vienna. Today there are around 100 young singers between the ages of 10 and 14, divided into four touring choirs. The choir's repertoire includes everything from medieval to contemporary and experimental music, plus holiday classics, and is an ideal concert for adults and kids alike.

The program will include contemporary songs by artists like Billy Joel and Freddy Mercury, sacred carols and holiday classics like "Noel", "Jingle Bells", "Oh Come Little Children" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" as well as music from Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven and Haydn.

"The Vienna Boys Choir continues to delight audiences across the globe with their purity of tone, distinctive charm and a diverse, crowd-pleasing repertoire that encompasses Austrian folk songs and waltzes, classical masterpieces, beloved pop songs, holiday favorites and medieval chant," said Kathryn Maguet, executive director of the Weis Center.

"Gifted musicians with voices of unforgettable beauty, they carry on the Vienna Boys Choir's illustrious tradition as the world's pre-eminent boy choir. The Weis Center is pleased to bring this special holiday concert to central Pennsylvania this season."

Boys have been singing at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor since the early 15th century. In 1498, more than half a millennium ago, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and his court musicians to Vienna. He gave instructions that there were to be six singing boys among his musicians. Historians have settled on 1498 as the foundation date of the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle and in consequence the Vienna Boys Choir. Until 1918, the choir sang exclusively for the imperial court, at mass, at private concerts and functions, and on state occasions.

Limited tickets are available; they are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62+ and $15 for youth, and can be ordered by calling 570-577-1000 or online at www.bucknell.edu/BoxOffice.

The next event in the Weis Center's series is a free kids' show by the Paper Bag Players Saturday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m. The Paper Bag Players is a company of adults who create and perform original, contemporary, musical theater for children ages 4 through 8. "Saddles and Sunshine" has everything: funny plays, unforgettable songs, jokes, dances, paper bag sets and opportunities for the audience to become involved in the fun. Guests are asked to bring a canned food item, which will be donated to a local organization and distributed to local families in need during the holiday season.

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